Updating this story again for Rare Pair's week! Also, horizonproblems over on tumblr made the amazing new cover for the story, so a big thank you to them! ;v;/ Enjoy~

I would have been lying if I said that I wasn't scared—a bold-faced lie with no place in reality. Distracting myself with getting dressed lasted no more than a minute and did nothing to quell my racing thoughts. I took my time in the room that had been given to me, wandering around it, straightening the sheets thrice over. They were waiting for me, perhaps they would get annoyed, but I couldn't help it.

They wanted me to go into town with them. Law did, at least, while Kidd still remained as wary of me as ever. I was to go to look for clothes for myself, attire that fit better than the baggy human robes currently dressing me, and I was to look after Kidd while Law got another tattoo to cover the empty space on his back. Seeing that alone would make the trip worthwhile—I'd been curious about those 'amplifier' tattooes since the day I'd first seen them—but that was hardly enough to alleviate my concerns.

I'd never left my mountain, not once throughout my long, long life. That was my home, that was a part of myself, and the thought of parting with it made my stomach drop. It wasn't a long trip by any means, the town being only an hour's walk from my territory, but that didn't make it any easier. I was still venturing out into the unknown… Maybe a more powerful god wouldn't have been bothered, but I wasn't powerful. I was little more than a humble mountain god.

I couldn't stall forever. I went about ten minutes in my room before gathering the courage to meet the others out in the hall. They were bickering again, Kidd's wings flailing in show of his irritation as Law began completely ignoring him, and I had to wonder… Would it be okay to bring a wyvern into human territory?

I shook my head free of the thought and we left the mountain. Taking those first few steps out of the territory had me nervous, but as we started out into the snowy clearing past the forest it faded relatively painlessly. I may have felt… a bit ridiculous over how I reacted to such an underwhelming experience. There wasn't much talking along the way, and for the most part I just admired the strange new sights in silent observation as we treked onward.

Eventually I noticed something curious, a strange slow fade of the snow, a rise in temperature—nothing too significant but certainly enough to be noticed, especially since I was used to sub-zero temperatures year round.

"What is it?" Law questioned, eyeing me from where he walked alongside me.

"The god of this area is still active," I muttered, staring at my feet that were covered by shoes a few sizes too large as we dragged ourselves through layers of slush.

"Oh?"

"Lesser gods control the seasons… like myself. I used to bring spring to my mountain."

"I haven't heard that before." His sarcasm was thick and I rolled my eyes, leaving the subject to drop there.

"Just an observation."

The town was big—er, well… to me it was. I mean, how many years had it been since I'd last seen that many people all crammed into one place? For the most part the streets weren't too crowded… at least, not at first. There were houses, farms on the outskirts. Its main purpose seemed to be trade. As we went deeper into the heart of it all I started to notice a number of hotels. Maybe it was a change in the times or because the human settlement in my territory had been so remote, but it seemed strange to me. That meant there were a lot of travellers, a lot of people passing in and out on a regular basis. I wondered what surrounded this place. Sure, yeah, there was the mountain to the north, but I'd never really given any thought to what else was around there. I'd always just sort of… accepted where I was, never questioned it.

As we reached the main streets my heart swelled, a grin stretching across my face as I slowed my steps to take in the sheer number of people crowded around the shops and stands. I didn't know how many there were and I wasn't about to count, but damn, I hadn't seen crowds like those since—well… since ever. My people were always a smaller group. There were a lot of them, but they didn't compare to this… And Law called this a 'small town'...

Things really had changed.

There was a tap to my shoulder and I blinked, looking over at Law as he nodded to the left and my eyes followed to a small shop with a name carved into a wooden sign above the entrance, one in that funny-looking language Law brought with him to the mountain that I couldn't seem to understand. Kidd and I followed him inside to what I could only describe as some… bizarre, foreign set up with these comfortable-looking, padded chairs. I wondered what they were for. The rest of the shop seemed like an ordinary apothecary; it was just those chairs that looked out of place. But as my eyes wandered into one of the back corners I saw a man resting easily as another—an elf, if appearance was any indicator—tapped a strange, sharp device into his skin. It looked like it hurt… but the human grit his teeth and bore with it.

That was tattooing, wasn't it?

Law approached someone, another elf, and they had a small discussion while Kidd sniffed the place out. It wasn't long before Law was removing his arms from his sleeves, the upper part of his robe hanging at his waist as he lowered himself into a chair, and I once more looked over all the elaborate symbols on his body. I wanted to watch. It wasn't like the humans I'd known before didn't have markings like those, but… these were different. These were more than cosmetic designs; they gave Law the ability to heal. I wanted to see the moment magic was infused with those designs.

The tattooist began drawing something on the clear skin of Law's back but I couldn't watch as Law turned to look up at me, his eyes flicking over to the nosy wyvern snooping around every now and then. "This is going to take a while," he stated bluntly, beginning to rummage through his pouch. "Watch Kidd until I'm done. Get yourself some clothes."

"Ah… alright. Kidd," I called, beckoning the boy towards me. He hissed, only approaching when Law gave him a threatening glare. Even then it was obvious that he wasn't listening out of choice.

"Sabo," Law sighed, stopping me from leaving right there as he removed some coins from the pouch to keep for himself before holding the rest out for me. "You need money."

I blinked and then flushed, clearing my throat as I snatched it out of his hand. "I knew that."

"You didn't."

"I did."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not—"

"If the boy gets hungry, feed him. There's more than enough there."

I pouted, allowing the subject to drop there as I turned away from him and started out of the shop, staring into the bag at all of the various colours and sizes of coins. So that was the currency of this society, then… It was nothing like what I was used to seeing. The metals it was made from were different, and these looked more... I don't know, refined?

Alright… now what? I looked around, examining the bustling streets with fear and apprehension… and perhaps more than a little excitement. The people wore humble clothing, simple with dull colours and few patterns. It wasn't anything like what Law or myself wore, not at all. Law's clothes were deep, dark shades clearly made with expensive dyes—all except for those animal-skin coats he liked to bundle up in when out in the snow. They were embroidered and perhaps a bit lavish, at least by human standards. Looking around it seemed almost similar to what the fae wore, so perhaps Law was foreign… On our way to town he mentioned in passing that he used to travel.

Kidd folded his wings against his sides, making himself appear smaller than he was as he stuck close to me, almost causing me to trip with the way he was riding my heels. I stumbled a few times, looking down to see his lip curled, contrasting greatly with his pushed back ears. With the looks he was getting it didn't surprise me; there were more than just humans there, but they were fully transformed, leaving them to naturally blend in with the crowds. He'd yet to figure out just how to do that, probably because he had no one to instruct him. He was still just a nestling, even if he liked to act the contrary, so how was he supposed to have already picked up on that?

To shake off the brat's unease I grinned. "Scared?"

He snorted, wings twitching as he put some distance between us. "'Course not."

"Nervous, then?"

"No!"

I rolled my eyes and didn't fight him on it, searching around until—ah, there! A few meters away stood a row of clothing shops side-by-side. They were a bit crowded but so were the streets, and I figured we'd stand out less there than if we went someplace that was more or less deserted. I pulled Kidd in and he tried to resist but his efforts didn't last and he came to brood beside me when I wandered over to one of the racks.

"What d'you think?" I asked, holding up one of the dully-coloured shirts for his inspection. His expression told me that he couldn't care less—hell, he wouldn't even take a proper look at it—and I pouted as I put it back on the rack. Alright, so my first attempt at distracting him was shot down. That was okay, I was too stubborn to give up so easily. "I've never bought myself clothes before. I'm a bit lost on what to pick."

"Then don't get anything," he muttered. "Hurry up. I wanna go wait for Law."

I sighed, sifting through the clothes one by one before determining I didn't like any of them and moving on towards the shelves in the back, being sure Kidd stuck closeby, if only to keep the brat from getting into something he shouldn't. "If he wanted us to wait for him there he would have told us to."

"Shut up."

"Being difficult again, I see." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "If we get everything we need done then we can go back. We'd need to do it at some point regardless, so why not get it out of the way?"

Kidd looked away, kicking the floor with the toe of his boot and letting out an irritated growl. I thought that meant he understood.

"Now," I started, holding up a pale blue coat, "how's this look?"

"Fine," he muttered reluctantly.

I grinned, folding the fabric over my arm as we repeated the process a few more times. Soon I had enough to make a good few outfits—more than I had now, at least—and I was ready to go.

I almost walked out of the store without paying, only to be stopped by the merchant. He explained and I apologised, and when he gave me the total I opened up the pouch and—

...Bloody hell I didn't know the values of any of the coins. I froze there, at a loss for what to do, and eventually I turned pleading eyes to the small wyvern accompanying me. He looked confused at first but after a long while of unabashed staring he started to get it.

"...Really?"

"I'm foreign," I stated quickly, which wasn't entirely wrong… Well, it felt more like I'd travelled centuries into the future than I had come from a far-off land, but I didn't feel like explaining myself in front of all those strangers.

He rolled his eyes and pointed out the values of the coins and I was able to pay for my items and we left, albeit with a heavier load. We hadn't been out long, though, and I supposed giving Law more time would be appropriate. I glanced down at the oddly quiet Kidd, lips pressed together.

"...Are you hungry?"

"No."

"But you're always hungry."

"I'm not."

"Fine, fine." I sighed. His nerves were probably getting to him, what with the crowds and the staring. I could try getting him something later once he calmed down, I reasoned, but in the meantime I paused in our endless wandering. "Then keep me company for a bit?"

He eyed me warily. "Doin' what?"

I grinned, nodding across the plaza to a small shrine. "I'd like to visit. I've never been to one before." Well, one that wasn't my own, at least.

Kidd pressed his lips together as he stared at it, his wings pressed tightly to his sides. "...'Neither."

"Really?"

"'Course not. Why'd I need to go to a damn shrine?"

...Point. It wasn't like he lived in an area with an active god—I was too weak—and being that wyverns naturally lived in cold, winter climates, his flight wouldn't have needed a lesser god like myself. So I didn't really fault him for it and led him up to the shrine. It wasn't anything extravagant, just a simple outdoor structure with a gabled roof, painted in bright reds and deep blacks that faded with age in some areas and chipped in others. It was a humble little home, a bit similar to my own in that sense, and I smiled as I watched the people in front of us place their offerings.

Once the area was clear, all but for a small boy with unruly black hair who was gawking at it off to the side, Kidd and I approached. He started sniffing the shrine which, if I'm honest, I kind of expected. People glanced over but I don't think any of them found it all that strange; it was obvious Kidd wasn't human, and I doubted he was the first brat to do that. I instead admired the large metal statues resting just outside the shrine, a pair of golden monkeys. No doubt that was the main form they'd given to the god… An animal, huh? Some things never changed.

Ah… "We should leave something."

Kidd paused in his investigation of the shrine to look up at me. "Why the hell should we?"

Brat. "Because that's how lesser gods maintain their strength."

"Then what do we give it?"

"It doesn't matter what, really, just…" I hummed, grabbing out the pouch from earlier and leaving a few coins as an offering. The boy snorted and I grinned. "Don't tell Law."

"Why?"

"Because I fear a lecture, that's why. C'mon, let's get you some food."

"I said I'm not—"

"Then we'll get you a snack for later—just listen, damn it."

We got back to the apothecary just in time to see the tail end of the magic infusion, I was pleased to find. Kidd and I stood off to the side, arms filled with bags. I hadn't gotten Kidd to eat but that was due more to him being too embarrassed to switch forms than him not being hungry. We picked up some local foods for later, and I even managed to get him to pick out a cloak for himself—not without protests of "I dun' need one," of course.

Law's skin was red, the new tattoo raised with the swelling, and it looked… odd, out of place amongst the rest. The ink was a deep black, the exact opposite of what I expected to see. It ran along the bulk of his shoulder blade and over and around to his collarbone, in between two other tattooes. With the redness it looked like it hurt, but Law didn't seem to care or even notice. He was leaning forward, arms resting on his knees as the elf massaged a salve into the area, waiting until it was absorbed into the skin before beginning a low-muttered spell.

It was a long process. We were standing there a good while before I started to see the black just… lift from the ink, a stark white revealed beneath it, accented by a pale blue. I was confused but a moment before spotting another patron across the room paying for their service, deep red workings running down their arm. Ah… the colour changed depending on the type of magic. The designs of both Law's and that other human's tattoos differed greatly, so perhaps that played a part as well…

It made sense, elves lending their abilities to humans. The two species had always done close trade back in the day so I could easily see their partnership spreading to the exchange of magics and wealth.

After Law paid he approached us, slipping his arms back into the sleeves of his robe, his eyes roving over the both of us and our luggage. "Are we broke now?"

I shook my head with a sigh. "No, Trafalgar, we're not. I happen to be a very good consumer."

"He asked me for help," Kidd confessed, sticking out his tongue when I shot him a betrayed glare. Brat.

Law snorted, starting out of the shop and nodding for us to follow. "I figured as much."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing."

I didn't press further. The bickering between the two started up again—mostly on Kidd's side, as Law was quick to ignore him—and I drowned it out as I eyed the white markings on Law's forearms peeking out from beneath his sleeves. So much of his skin was covered, and I had to wonder… "Hey, Law?"

"Hm?" He glanced over at me.

"You gain magic with every tattoo you get, yeah?" He narrowed his eyes but affirmed my suspicions with a nod. "Then what happens when you run out of room?"

He shrugged. "I still have my face, and parts of my legs."

I sighed. That wasn't what I was asking...

I've never understood humans. Watching them come and go, live and die. It's always been this consistent, eternal cycle that plays across the generations and they all remain unaware, unknowing of just how abruptly all of it would end. No, no, that wasn't it… They were aware. They grieved the lost, celebrated the lives of the deceased in order to see them into whatever afterlife they believed in, and then… moved on. I wondered how they could move on. I wondered how they could continue with their lives day-to-day quietly, casually, without the knowledge of their impending death looming over them like a crushing weight.

I often found myself ruminating during the late hours of night when the human and boy were asleep. I would sit on one of the outcroppings watching the sky, never minding the grey cloud cover blocking out the stars, and I would wait for sunrise. Human form or not I didn't need sleep, really—and I certainly didn't dream—and sometimes this could be a nice alternative to slipping back into Otherworld and watching from there. It was fun to be a part of it all rather than a silent observer… or something. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being dramatic, or sentimental.

Every once in awhile I found company. It came in the form a tall, dark-skinned man with tired eyes that refused sleep. Trafalgar Law was a strange human in the way he worked without rest for hours on end, and sometimes those hours became days, and those days saw the bags under his eyes deepening. So I wasn't surprised when amidst my wandering thoughts I found him sitting beside me on the outcropping with an offering of tea—coffee for himself, of course. I accepted, never to question just why he insisted on going without sleep. Instead I focused on the warmth in my hands, pleasant against the chill of the winter air. We were both bundled in those fur coats of his… Our attempts to find anything as warm back in town fell flat; apparently despite being so close to a snowy region they, themselves, only had use for light attire. Alright, that was pretty understandable, considering no one had entered my territory in so many years…

We drank slowly, savouring the tastes and each other's company as we stared outward. There was a storm peeking out over the horizon, one that would reach us by morning, I was sure.

"You mentioned spring used to come," Law commented, the statement more a casual observation than pure curiosity.

I nodded, lips curling into a smile. "While the humans were here I had the power to bring warmer seasons. I could do it now, maybe, but it would take what little I have left."

"Their offerings gave you strength."

"I'm as powerful as my people need me to be. I think."

He let out a soft snicker, tapping his nail against the rim of his mug. "Not very sure of anything, are you?"

"Mother never explained," I shrugged, "so I've figured things out for myself. I may be a god but even I can make mistakes."

"Your mother?"

I raised an eyebrow. Trafalgar had never really taken much interest in me outside of my claim of being the mountain god. Well, no one had, really. So it took me a moment to actually think of a way to answer; it wasn't as simple a question as it sounded. Eventually I just pointed to the sky.

He looked intrigued. "Oh?"

I shrugged, not really sure how else to explain it, and rose to my feet, tipping my mug upside down in show of its emptiness. "Should we get more?"

He looked at his own mug before allowing the subject to drop, nodding and following me back through the mountain to the kitchen for refills. As I sipped at my tea I caught him staring my way more than once, which just wasn't at all like him. Law was being particularly odd that night, and I wondered if sleep deprivation was to blame.

"You don't look like a mountain god," he observed as he lowered himself to the kitchen table.

"O-oh?" I cursed myself for stuttering. That would be Law's fault, not mine.

Law hummed, resting his head in his palm as tired eyes bore into mine. I wasn't sure why it was making me so unnerved… "Should you not resemble your mountain?"

"And how do you suppose I do that, Trafalgar?"

He thought. It was when his tired expression turned to one of surprise that I stormed from the room in search of that damn hand mirror, and the moment I found it I studied my reflection hard in order to see just what had changed.

My hair was white, my skin pasty. That, I suppose, was so that I would resemble the snowy mountaintop… Law was a surprisingly simple man.

I sighed, not really bothered by the change as I dragged myself back to the kitchen and plopped down in the chair across from Law. A part of him wanted to ask, I could see it in the way he was looking at me, and I spared him the trouble of having to say it himself. "I'm the visualisation of my people's thoughts. I get my physical form from them."

He nodded silently, finishing his coffee and rising from his seat. Damn it, I'd just sat down. "I have potions to tend to. Would you like to assist?"

I looked up at him, head cocked to the side. Well… that was new. Never before had Trafalgar Law asked me to help him with his work. Hell, god or no I didn't think he trusted me all that much. He was a very… cautious man, to put it lightly. No one was allowed to touch his work—rarely did he even tolerate people in his lab.

I grinned and nodded, following him down the hall. Watching him work was fascinating—partially because I'd never seen the process before meeting him, and partially because he usually didn't let me watch. But this time he wanted me to work with him. After checking on the current brew he sat down beside me, showing me step by step how to ground herbs. That, at least, was familiar. My humans had done it all that time ago for medicines and salves, and the process hadn't really changed. It was embarrassing to admit that I was proud for picking up on something so simple so quickly.

We fell into a bit of a silent trance, both of us working separately in the lab. Law was measuring out ingredients for… something-or-other. I didn't bother to ask. I found myself watching him as I ground the herbs into a paste. Law was human. One day he'd die just like the rest, a fact I'd been aware of ever since he first arrived in my lands.

Damn it.

But my mind was brought back to my contemplation from earlier. Law was a healer. Out of all humans he understood death in the most intimate of ways. But I couldn't just outright ask him about his thoughts on death. That would be… rude, right? So I asked the next best thing. "Why did you become a healer?"

I caught him glance my way for the briefest of moments before getting back to his work. "To help the sick."

"You don't own a practice."

"I don't like people."

"More than help them, you just sell them medicine that—"

"That is helping them." The dull glare he sent my way had my lips sealing shut. Alright, okay, maybe that was a bit ruder than intended. Moreover I was veering away from what I really wanted to know.

I chose my words carefully over a period of silence. "Why… did you want to help them?"

Law stopped measuring to stare at the table. It lasted just a second before he moved on to mixing the ingredients and beckoning me close to hand over the paste. He scooped it up, dumping it into a small boiling pot before nodding to me to get back to work. And soon to follow, softly-spoken words.

"Life is unfair."

To my lovelies~

Rayany Amor: I'm glad you find it unique, that's always my goal with these types of fics ;v;/ I won't give spoilers about the ending but I will say that I do hope you guys like it, it was reeeally hard to write and I'm just a little bit proud of it XD

Dutchess-Of-Dirt: Law does EVERYTHING on purpose honestly XD

Blackthorn Ashe: Sabo's appearance is based mainly on the perception of his people, which in this case is just Law and Kidd. Buuuut his appearance does change over the course of the story~

sarge1130: Yes, exactly! The hare form was because of the prominent presence of arctic hares on the mountain. They were an important source of game for the former mountain residents and were considered sacred, and then stories of their god taking on that form to watch over them grew in popularity and bam, Sabo's a bunny XD So yes, your guess was correct! You're very welcome hun~

Move-2-da-beat-femme: Awww you're sweet thank you ;v;/

horizonproblems: OP-fantasy is my lifeblood. I will never stop writing it, you hear? Never! I actually do have a lot more of the world built up than necessary though, and I could probably continue the story past the ending with a whole bunch more exploration if it wasn't unnecessary XD There are a lot of different creatures I headcanon for it.

Thank you all so much for reading as always, and feel free to let me know what you thought!

Adieu~